Always Chaotic Evil

[ysabetwordsmith]

Here's an interesting essay about "evil races" in speculative fiction.  Plenty of writers find it convenient to have large numbers of unquestionably awful opponents for their heroes to hack and slash on the glory road.

For me, the appeal is different.  I like to look for the misfits, the imperfectly evil, the ineptly evil, the secretly good, the

Comments

[siege]

I might be. I'll think on this through the afternoon, and if something comes out I'll link back to it.

[siege]

Congratulations, you inspired an epic!

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>Or...maybe...write what you want to write, and if you're lucky, when you look back, that's what you'll have done.<<

This sort of thing has happened to me more than once. The Adventures of Aldornia and Zenobia is all about lesbians who go sane, run away from home, fall in love, and live happily ever after. Essentially the opposite of what happens to lesbians in almost every other story, movie, etc.

>> Creatures that are expected to be good, but aren't, or aren't entirely so, to me, are humans, or might as well be. ... )

[lyonesse]

asian stereotypes of white folks might make an interesting starting point (and i suspect long have in asia). there's the demons with white skin, green eyes, and red hair (coincidentally a big "magic person" look in white folks' fantasy lit), and the typical term meaning "big nose".

i don't write about unified groups of people enough to indulge in this kind of thing myself. even my werewolves are a mixed lot -- the one who gets the most text is hispanic, though my protagonist can't really identify him to race other than a brief "not white".

Thank you!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> there's the demons with white skin, green eyes, and red hair (coincidentally a big "magic person" look in white folks' fantasy lit), and the typical term meaning "big nose".<<

That's a good point, must remember that one.

[rix_scaedu]

If you have a pantheon whose gods deal with different subjects from different points of view, then what the angels that serve them do will depend on what their divine masters require.

Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith]

That's basically what I figure, yes. No reason Gorrein can't have angels and paladins just because he has the personality of a psychotic 15-year-old boy.

[amaebi]

Thank you!

I've spent nearly two decades sorrowing for the young orc who really wants to spend his life playing cocktail piano. :)

Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I don't know what-all his aspirations are, but I direct your attention to Hicket (who is a quarter-orc) in " A Catalog of Flaws" and " The Fading Tower." You can request more about your favorite characters in any Poetry Fishbowl with a relevant theme.

As always, it's Tolkien's fault

[livejournal]

User marina_bonomi referenced to your post from As always, it's Tolkien's fault saying: [...] Browsing my friends' page I happened across this post [...]

Re: As always, it's Tolkien's fault

[ysabetwordsmith]

I've recommended this in a separate post so more people will see it.